Indicia display

ABSTRACT

Indicia bearing strips are mounted in a groove so that their outer surfaces will lie in flush relationship to a backing in which the groove is formed or to adjacent indicia bearing strips between which grooves are formed. Such strips may be replaceable and held in place by fitting undercut grooves and/or by retaining detents or by magnetic attraction. Individual strips may be mounted in grooves in office doors, for example, or may be assembled in edge-to-edge relationship with other strips to form a directory.

[lite States Patent [191 Frost et al.

[451 Aug. 14, 1973 INDICIA DISPLAY [76] Inventors: William B. Frost, 1717 99th NE,

Bellevue, Wash; Edward N. K. Cooper, 7673 6th St., Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada 22 Filed: Oct. 30, 1970 21 Appl. No.: 85,518

1,121,809 12/1914 De Silva .x. 40/142 A 380,652 4/1888 Gartside... 40/28.7

FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 125,260 6/1949 Sweden 40/28.6

Primary Examiner-Robert W. Michell Assistant Examiner-L. R. Oremland Attorney-Robert W. Beach [57] ABSTRACT Indicia bearing strips are mounted in a groove so that their outer surfaces will lie in flush relationship to a backing in which the groove is formed or to adjacent indicia bearing strips between which grooves are formed. Such strips may be replaceable and held in place by fitting undercut grooves and/or by retaining detents or by magnetic attraction. Individual strips may be mounted in grooves in office doors, for example, or may be assembled in edge-to-edge' relationship with other strips to form a directory.

5 Claims, 26 Drawing Figures PATENTEM 3.751.836

wi 24 25 WMMM ATTOF/YE Y INDICIA DISPLAY.

A principal object of the present invention is to provide indicia displays which are very attractive and which are of substantially permanent character, not deteriorating appreciably.

A further object is to provide such an indicia display having indicia strips which can be applied quickly and may be constructed to be removed quickly, particularly by an authorized person.

An additional object is to provide an indicia display utilizing indicia strips which can be prefabricated in a shop by standard procedure and installed quickly on the job. Such strips can be readily replaceable in an indicia display.

Another object is to provide a type of indicia display which is versatile so that it can be varied in appearance and type of installation depending on the desires of particular customers, yet is economical to construct and install.

Particularly with reference to a directory board, it is an objectto provide a construction in which indicia strips can be replaced quickly and easily, yet the indicia board will be protected from tampering.

FIG. 1 is a top perspective of an office door showing one type of indicia display and FIG. 2 is a similar view of an office door showing an alternative type of indicia display.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary detail elevation of the indicia strip installation shown in FIG. I, and FIG. 4 is a transverse section taken on line 4-4 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary elevation of a modifed type of indicia display and FIG. 6 is a transverse section through such display taken on line 6-6 of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary elevation of another type of indicia strip display, and FIG. 8 is a transverse sectio on line 8-8 of FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a side elevation of a differentindicia stri display, and FIG. 10 is a transverse section through such display taken along line 10-10 of FIG. 9.

FIG. 11 is a side elevation of still a different indicia strip installation. FIG. 12 is a transverse section through such installation taken on line 12-12 of FIG. 1 l and FIG. 13 is a transverse section through another portion of the display along line 13-13 of FIG. 11.

FIG. 14 is a detail transverse section similar to FIG. 13 showing a different type of construction, and FIG. 15 is a similar viewshowing still a different type of structure.

FIG. 16 is a front elevation of a directory board embodying the invention with parts broken away. FIG. 17 is a longitudinal section through such directory board taken on line 17-17 of FIG. 16. FIG. 18 is a transverse section through such'directory board at the location of line 18-18 in FIG. 16, and FIG. 19 is a transverse section through such directory board along line 19-19 of FIG. 16 with parts broken away.

FIG. 20 is a fragmentary longitudinal section through the directory board of FIG. 16 taken along the upper portion of the board at the location of line 17-17, and FIG. 21 is a fragmentary longitudinal section through the lower portion of the board at the location of line 21-21.

FIG. 22 is a fragmentary longitudinal section through the upper portion of a directory board showing an alternative type of construction.

FIG. 23 is a fragmentary longitudinal section through a portion of a directory board such as shown in FIG. 16 comparable to FIG. 21, but illustrating an alternative type of structure.

FIGS. 24 and 25 are further enlarged detail longitudinal sections taken along line 21-21 of FIG. 16 showing other alternative types of construction.

FIG. 26 is an exploded, fragmentary top perspective of the lower right portion of the directory board shown in FIG. 16, with parts broken away.

In each embodiment of the present invention illustrated in the drawings, an indicia strip is received in a groove so that the outer face of the strip will be flush with the adjacent structure. In FIG. 1, an indicia strip installation is shown in a door 1 for the purpose of indicating the occupants of an ofiice, for example. The indicia strip 2, as shown in FIGS. 1, 3 and 4, is fitted snugly into a groove 3 in the door, which extends from edge to edge of the door. The depth of the groove 3 is substantially equal to the thickness of the indicia strip 2, and a layer of adhesive 4 is provided beneath the strip for securing it in place so that the outer surface of the indicia strip will be substantially flush with the surface of the door at opposite sides of groove 3.

Any desired indicia can be applied to the strip 2 in any suitable manner. Such indicia may, for example, be a room number and/or a name. Such indicia preferably is applied to such a strip by a shop process so that the strip can be prefabricated in a shop by a mass production type of operation. The indicia may, for example, be placed on the strip by an etching process, a photoengraving process or a transfer process, such as a decalcomania. Also, the strip can be of material similar to that of the door, or can be of plastic or metal as may be preferred. The strip should fit tightly in the groove 3, but not so tightly as to make it difficult to install the strip. The adhesive 4 can be of the pressure-sensitive type so that the strip can be peeled out of the groove for replacement, or the adhesive can be of more permanent type such as contact cement which would make it more difficult t6 remove the strip if it should need to be replaced.

In the indicia strip installation shown in FIG. 2, the strip-receiving groove 3 again extends from edge to edge of the door, but one portion of the strip is intended to be a more permanent installation than another portion of the strip. Thus, the strip portion 5 is the more permanent portion being installed behind the door handle, and the section 6 is of less permanent installation. As a variation, the strip section 6 has in it an aperture 7 through which indicia on an underlying indicia bearing strip 8 can be viewed. Again, such indicia can be applied to the indicia bearing strip in various ways, but an advantageous construction is to make the strip 8 of photographic film stock on which a name can be printed in any desired color. On the more permanent section 5 of the indicia strip, a room number 9 can be provided by an etching or photoengraving process, for example, as mentioned above. Q

In the indicia strip installation shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the indicia strip 10 has in it an indicia viewing aperture 11 with a rabbet 12 on its underside around the margin of the aperture. Such rabbet is of a depth to receive an inserted indicia strip 13 which again can be of photographic film stock or, alternatively, can be a plastic or metal strip bearing the indicia. The advantage of this type of construction over that shown in FIGS. 3

and 4, is that in order to change the indicia displayed, it is not necessary to replace the entire indicia strip, but the smaller and thinner strip 13 can simply be replaced.

While in the installation described in connection with FIGS. 1 to 6, the indicia strips are shown as being installed in straight-sided grooves, so that it is either necessary to provide a tight fit of the strip in the groove or to bond the strip to the groove by adhesive in order to insure that the strip will be retained in the groove, the installations shown in FIGS. 7 to 13, inclusive, employ the combination of a dovetail groove in which strip sections 15 and 16 having beveled edges will fit. The strip section 15 is intended to be a more permanent installation because it bears the room number 9, whereas the strip section 16 is intended to be a less permanent installation because it displays the name.

Particularly because of their different functions, the strip sections 15 and 16 can be of different types. Thus, the strip section 15 can be opaque and the room number 9 can be applied to its outer surface by an etching or photoengraving process, for example, as mentioned above. On the other hand, the less permanently installed strip section 16 can be transparent, such as of glass or clear plastic to reveal indicia on an understrip 17, which may be made of photographic film stock or other thin plastic or metal. When the name is to be changed, the transparent overlying strip 16 is slid edgewise to the right, as seen in FIG. 7, out of the dovetail groove 18 shown in FIG. 8, so that the underlying indicia bearing strip will be exposed. This strip is then exchanged for another, and the same transparent cover strip 16 can be slid back into place over the new indicia strip 17.

The indicia strip installation of FIGS. 9 and again includes two parts, namely, a more permanent section 5 and a less permanent section 19. The more pennanent section is similar to the section described in connection with FIGS. 7 and 8, but differs in that this strip section has the door handle shank extending through it as in the type of installation shown in FIG. 2. The other section 19 differs from the section 16 of FIGS. 7 and 8, in that the indicia is formed on the outer face of the strip. The edges of this strip are, however, beveled to match the edges of dovetail groove 20 in the door face in which the strip is inserted.

The indicia strip 21 of FIGS. 11 to 13 also has beveled edges and fits into a dovetail groove 22 in the door face. In this instance, however, the groove bottom is stepped to provide a central depression for holding an indicia bearing strip 8 beneath a viewing aperture 7 in the strip 21. In addition to relying upon the dovetail formation of the strip and groove for retaining the strip in the groove, a detent 23 can be provided to fit into a depression in the back of the strip 21 for deterring endwise sliding of the strip.

A variation of the construction shown in FIGS. 11 to 13 is shown in FIG. 14 in which the opposite longitudinal edges of the strip 24 are flanged to fit into undercut grooves 25 in the opposite edges of the strip-receiving groove, in the form of a shiplap joint. The bottom of the strip-receiving groove, in this instance, is stepped, as it is in the form of FIGS. 11 to 13. A similar step is provided in the bottom of the groove shown in FIG. 15, but in this instance, the sides of the upper portion of the groove are perpendicular to the face surface like the grooves shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, for example, to receive a similar type of straight-sided strip 6.

In FIGS. 16 to 26, an assembly of indicia strips is incorporated in a directory board. Such board is mounted on a supporting panel 26, shown as a sheet of 5-ply plywood, which can be attached to a suitable wall or stand. The directory board includes a backing panel 27, shown as a sheet of 3-ply plywood, carrying a cover sheet 28 on which the indicia strips 29 are mounted. Such indicia strips may, for example, bear the names of people or companies occupying offices in a building, or may bear designations of meetings or events accompanied by room designations. The strips 29 may be in a single piece, or may be composed of sections. One section, for example, could bear a name and a second section could bear a room number. One section or sections could bear the designation of a meeting or event and another section or sections could bear a room number or name.

Because the plane of the directory board backing panel 27 will be upright, the strip elements 29 should be adherent to the cover sheet 28. The adherent effect between the indicia strip elements and the directory board sheet can be produced in various ways, such as by the cover sheet and/or the indicia strips having a pressure-sensitive adhesive surface, or by the cover sheet and indicia strips having surfaces of clinging material such as felt or by the cover sheet and indicia strip elements having magnetic attraction. The last mentioned type of adherent structure is preferred.

For the indicia strip elements 29 to adhere to the cover sheet 28 by magnetic attraction, one of such elements will have the characteristics of a magnet, and the other of such elements will be made of magnetic material. It is preferred that the cover sheet 28 be magne-. tized and that the indicia strips 29 be of magnetic material such as of steel. Indicia can be applied readily and inexpensively to such strips by application of rub-off transfer letters and numbers. Each of such strips can be removed or inserted individually by lengthwise sliding movement as illustrated in FIG. 26. The entire cover sheet 28 can be covered by indicia strips placed in edge-to-edge coplanar relationship as shown in FIG. 16.

It is important that the construction of the directory board prevent tampering with the indicia strips 29. Consequently, the opening between upper and lower edges of the space overlying the cover sheet 28 are closed. An angle strip having a wide face flange 30 and a narrower edge flange 31 extends across the top of the board as shown in FIG. 17 with the flange 31 covering the upper edge of the directory board backing panel 27 and the flange 30 overlying the upper portion of the face of such panel. A lower angle strip includes a wide flange 32 covering the lower margin of the directory board panel 27 and a narrower flange 33 extending beneath the lower edge of the directory board panel 27 and of the supporting panel 26.

The face flanges 30 and 32 of the upper and lower angle members and the cover sheet 28 between them are covered by a transparent facing sheet 34 of glass or plastic. Such facing sheet is secured in place spaced outwardly from the backing panel 27 by unslotted heads of securing screw assemblies 35. Each securing screw includes an internally threaded shank integral with the head and extending through an aperture in the facing sheet 34, a flange 30 or 32, and the backing panel 27 behind such flange. An externally threaded screw extends through the aperture in backing panel 27 and is screwed into the internally threaded shank.

The directory board is mounted removably on the supporting panel 26 by attaching flanges 31 and 33 to such panel. A hole 36 in the upper flange 31 fits over the end of a latch pin 37 protruding upward beyond the upper edge of the supporting panel 26, as shown in FIGS. 17 and 20. Correspondingly, a hole 38 in the lower flange 33 receives the projecting end of a latch pin 39 protruding beyond the lower edge of the supporting panel, as shown in FIGS. 21 and 23. One of these pins, shown as being the lower pin 39, is retractable for withdrawal of its end out of the flange hole so that the edge of the directory board panel carrying such flange can be swung away from the supporting panel.

As shown best in FIG. 21, the pin 39 has a head 39' which is backed by a compression spring 40 received in a cavity 41 in the directory board supporting panel 26. By endwise pressure on the projecting end of pin 39, such pin can be moved lengthwise toward therecess 41 in opposition to the force of spring 40 sufficiently to retract the projecting end of such pin from a hole 38 in the flange 33.

When the flange has thus been released, the entire directory board can be swung in the manner indicated in FIG. 21 about its opposite end until the flange 33 has cleared the supporting panel 26. The directory board can then be shifted edgewise as indicated in FIG. 20 to withdraw the hole 36 in flange 31 from the projecting end of pin 37. The entire directory board can'then be removed from the board-supporting panel 26 while the latter remains in place.

In some instances, it may be preferred to make the board-supporting panel 26 and the directory board inseparable. In such instances, the construction shown in FIG. 22 can be used as an alternate to the construction of FIG. 20. In this instance, instead of providing interengagable and separable pin-and-socket means, such as the pin 37 and hole 36 shown in FIG. 20, the corresponding edges of the directory board backing panel 27 and the mounting panel 26can be inseparably but movably connected by a hinge 36' substituted for the pin-and-socket type of 'copnection. Such hinge may be a continuous or piano type of -hinge. Whatever its structure, it will guide the directory backing panel 27 for swinging relative to the supporting panel 26 without the two panels being separated.

It is preferred that the opposite edges of the directory board supporting panel 26 extending perpendicular to the edges of such panel covered by the directory board flanges 31 and 33 have outwardly projecting flanges between which the directory board backing panel 27 and transparent facing sheet 34 are received and which are of a width sufficient to cover the thickness of the directory board. Such a flange 42 is shown in FIG. 26 as having a tongue or flange 43 perpendicular to it which is secured in a marginal groove 43' extending along the edge of panel 26.

As shown best in FIG. 18, it is preferred that flanges 42 along the edges of the supporting panel 26 be sufficiently wide to cover virtually the entire thickness of the directory board assembly, projecting outward across the access opening to the strip-receiving cavity between the backing panel 27 and the transparent facing sheet 34. Such flange will therefore prevent access to the cavity between the cover sheet 28 and the facing sheet 34 in which the indicia strips 29 are received.

Consequently, these flanges constitute obstructing means which will prevent removal of indicia strips.

When the directory board panel 27 has been swung away from the supporting panel 26 in the manner indicated in FIGS.'20, 21 and 26, as described above, how ever, the edges of the space between the cover sheet 28 and the facing sheet 34 are accessible so that indicia strips 29 can be shifted lengthwise of such space and replacement strips can be inserted into such space as indicated in FIG. 26.

In the arrangement for mounting the transparent facing sheet 34 on the directory board panel 27, by the use of screws as described in connection with FIGS. 16 to 22 and 26, it is necessary to provide holes in such facing sheet. These holes form stress concentration points which induce cracking of the facing sheet. Thestress concentration resulting from a hole for accommodating a securing screw 35 may, for example, result in a corner of the facing sheet breaking off. Such stress concentration areas can be avoided by utilizing a construction such as shown in FIGS. 23 and 24, for example, along opposite margins, such as the upper margin and lower margin of the directory board.

Instead of utilizing only a simple angle marginal flnishing strip including a face flange forming a spacer between the directory board panel27 and the facing sheet 34, the strip has an additional flange. In the strip of FIGS. 23 and 24, the flange 33'. adapted to cover corresponding edges of the directory board panel 27 and the directory board supporting panel 26 is extended outward into overlapping relationship with the corresponding edge of the facing sheet 34.

Three flanges 44, and 46 project in generally parallel relationship from the same side of flange 33' in place of the single flange 32. The middle flange 44 corresponds to the single flange 32 of the other type of marginal finishing strip described and is engaged between the directory board panel 27 and the transparent facing sheet 34 as shown in FIGS. 23 and 24 to space them apart for providing the space between them to accommodate the cover sheet 28 and the indicia strips 29. v

The outer flange 45 is spaced from the central flange 44 a distance substantially equal to the thickness of the facing sheet 34 as shown in FIG. 24 and the margin of such facing sheet fits into the groove between such flanges 44 and 45 to retain the facing sheet in place of the construction shown in FIGS. 16 to 22. The screws 35 served the dual purpose of attaching the marginal finishing strips 32, 33 and the facing sheet 34 to the directory panel board 27 because the screws 35 extended through both the finishing strip flange 32 and the facing sheet 34 as well as the panel 27 as described above.

When the screws 35 are omitted, it is necessary to provide an alternate construction for securing the marginal finishing strips to the directory panel. The inner flange 46 serves this purpose by being of a cross section flared away from the flange 33' and received in a complemental inwardly flared groove in the edge of the directory board panel to form a dovetail connection. Such a connection will prevent the finishing strip being pulled away from the directory panel in a direction transversely of the length of the strip without rupturing the panel so that the finishing strip can be removed from the panel edge in a practical manner only by sliding it lengthwise to withdraw the dovetail tongue 46 from the dovetail groove.

When the directory board 27 is moved into its position closely overlying the supporting panel 26 as shown in FIGS. l7, l8 and 19, the end portions of the upright strips 42, which cover the board edges, will extend over the opposite ends respectively of the compound angle strip 33', 44, 45, 46 of FIG. 23, so that such compound angle strip cannot be separated from the directory board panel without rupturing it. When the backing panel is swung away from the supporting panel as indicated in FIG. 23 until the flange 33 is out of registration with an end portion of flange 42, however, the finishing strip can be removed by edgewise sliding movement to withdraw the tongue 46 from the dovetail groove. u

In FIG. 25, a somewhat rr iodified marginal finishing strip is shown which functions in generally the same way as the strip shown in FIGS. 23 and 24. In this instance, the inner flange of the marginal finishing strip is in the form of a barbed tongue 47 which can be pushed into a groove 48 of uniform width in the edge of the directory board panel 27. The wedging action of such barbed tongue will spread the sides of the uniform width groove sufficiently to enable the tongue to enter the groove, but the marginal finishing strip cannot then be pulled off the edge of the directory panel without rupturing the panel edge to a greater or lesser extent. In this instance, also, however, the marginal finishing strip can be removed from the panel edge so as to be able to remove the facing sheet 34 by sliding the finishing strip lengthwise after the directory panel has been swung away from the supporting panel 26 in the manner shown in FIGS. 23 and 26 to uncover the strip end. By such movement, the flange 47 is moved lengthwise out of the groove 48. The strip can be replaced on the edge of the directory board panel by moving it transversely of its length to insert tongue 47 again into groove 48.

We claim:

1. An indicia display device comprising a directory board having a groove in one edge thereof, a transparent facing sheet overlying said directory board and having an edge portion overlying the grooved edge portion of said directory board, a finishing strip having an inner flange received in said directory board edge groove, an outer flange overlying an edge portion of said transparent facing sheet and an intermediate flange disposed between the outer face of said directory board and the inner face of said transparent sheet and forming a cavity therebetween, and a plurality of indicia strips receivable in said cavity between the outer face of said directory board and the inner face of said transparent facing sheet.

2. The indicia display device defined in claim 1, a supporting panel underlying the directory board, and disengageable means securing the directory board to said supporting panel including a projection projecting inwardly from the finishing strip and disengageable means for connecting said supporting panel and said finishing strip projection.

3. The indicia display device defined in claim 1, in which the outer face of the directory board is magnetized and the indicia strips are of thin magnetic metal.

4. The indicia display defined in claim 1, in which the finishing strip inner flange is a dovetail flange.

5. The indicia display defined in claim 1, in which the finishing strip inner flange is a barbed tongue.

4 s a: v s 

1. An indicia display device comprising a directory board having a groove in one edge thereof, a transparent facing sheet overlying said directory board and having an edge portion overlying the grooved edge portion of said directory board, a finishing strip having an inner flange received in said directory board edge groove, an outer flange overlying an edge portion of said transparent facing sheet and an intermediate flange disposed between the outer face of said directory board and the inner face of said transparent sheet and forming a cavity therebetween, and a plurality of indicia strips receivable in said cavity between the outer face of said directory board and the inner face of said transparent facing sheet.
 2. The indicia display device defined in claim 1, a supporting panel underlying the directory board, and disengageable means securing the directory board to said supporting panel including a projection projecting inwardly from the finishing strip and disengageable means for connecting said supporting panel and said finishing strip projection.
 3. The indicia display device defined in claim 1, in which the outer face of the directory board is magnetized and the indicia strips are of thin magnetic metal.
 4. The indicia display defined in claim 1, in which the finishing strip inner flange is a dovetail flange.
 5. The indicia display defined in claim 1, in which the finishing strip inner flange is a barbed tongue. 